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If Winnipeg’s NHL team has a head coach in place by this weekend’s draft, it will be either Manitoba Moose coach Claude Noel or Chicago Blackhawks assistant Mike Haviland.

Craig Ramsay, who guided the Atlanta Thrashers last season, was told Monday his services will not be retained when the team moves to Winnipeg. Another veteran coach who interviewed for the Winnipeg job, former Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish, confirmed through a text message that he is also out of the running.

“The way this whole thing played out was certainly awkward enough to have second thoughts,” Ramsay, who led the Thrashers to a 34-36-5-7 record last season, told the Sun. “It was very unfortunate it lasted as long as it did.”

Assistant coaches John Torchetti and Mike Stothers were also told Monday their services won’t be retained.

“There was some honesty about things, about where I thought it should go and where (Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff) thought it should go. I understand his position,” said Ramsay, noting he wasn’t offered another job within the organization. “Chevy was professional and he was solid. I have no issues whatsoever with (the decision). I like the team and the players, they’re good quality people. I would have liked to continued to work with the likes of the captain Andrew Ladd and the quality of the players they have.

“They’re going to be pretty darn good, I believe.”

That leaves Haviland (who was interviewed in Chicago on Friday) and Noel (who received the first interview) as the last two men standing.

One theory being floated on Monday would see both men hired, one as the head coach and one as an associate coach, since Noel and Haviland are both valued by Cheveldayoff and director of hockey operations Craig Heisinger.

With the draft in St. Paul, Minn., mere days away it’s possible that Cheveldayoff’s decision on the coach might have to wait until next week. But it’s also possible that with much of the hockey world asssembled, the draft could serve as an ideal place to make the announcement.

Either way, Cheveldayoff wasn’t tipping his hand one way or the other when he held a conference call with reporters on Monday.

“The process is continuing,” said Cheveldayoff. “There’s lots of internal discussions and lots of external discussions. At some point, we’ll move our process forward but as of right now, there’s really nothing else to report.”

Ramsay, who has one year left on his contract, is hoping to discuss his future with several other NHL teams at the NHL Entry Draft this weekend.

The New Jersey Devils are still looking for Jacques Lemaire’s replacement and Ramsay’s name has already surfaced as one of the guys who might be considered for the vacancy.

“At least I haven’t been forgotten,” said Ramsay. “I’ve been working in this game a long time and I’d like to keep working. If somebody wants to talk to me, I’m a free agent.”

In other coaching news on Monday, former Minnesota Wild head coach Todd Richards (considered a front-runner to be on Noel’s staff in Winnipeg if he gets the job) signed on with the Columbus Blue Jackets and will work under former Moose head coach Scott Arniel.